Mixer Labs, Twitter's first move into location-based tweets.
Twitter’s recent acquisition of Mixer Labs for its GeoAPI location-based technology prompts a number of questions. Will location become the hot subject of 2010? How will the other social-media giant Facebook respond?
Although Twitter is mum on what it paid for Mixer Labs (founded by two former Google employees), the San Francisco company recently said this acquisition was just the first of more to come. “Our efforts in this area have just begun,” Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced.
The San Francisco, Calif. company understands its 140-character service is quickly becoming a platform for news alerts and product marketing. “We want to know what’s happening, and more precisely, where is it happening,” the company blogged.
The acquisition of Mixer Labs allows Twitter’s API to offer software developers the ability to build-in location-based options for applications, such as TweetDeck. “When current location is added to tweets, new and valuable services emerge – everything from breaking news to finding friends or local businesses can be dramatically enhanced,” said Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
Twitter was a major outlet for Iranian voters and the three-year old company gave news as an example how location-based tweets could improve micro-blogging. “Twittering ‘Earthquake!’ alone is not as informative as ‘Earthquake!’ coupled with your current location.
Mixer Labs co-founder and CEO Elad Gil reportedly helped create Google’s mobile unit. The Mountain View, Calif. Internet giant’s move into location was marked by Google Lattitude, a service that maps the location of friends or co-workers. Google also paid Twitter (some say $15 million) for data-sharing.
The Mixer Labs acquisition is the second high-profile buy-out by Twitter. In 2008, the micro-blogging company acquired Summize, its technology improving users’ ability to search individual tweets.
Twitter has an estimated 58 million users, a far cry from Facebook’s more than 350 million. Facebook recently updated its privacy policy to include location-based services.
“Location Information. When you share your location with others or add a location to something you post, we treat that like any other content you post (for example, it is subject to your privacy settings). If we offer a service that supports this type of location sharing we will present you with an opt-in choice of whether you want to participate.”
However, Facebook must move carefully in that direction. “With all of Facebook’s privacy settings this will be a tricky dance for the world’s largest social network,” TechCrunch writes.
